This invention is a modification of the expandable urethral bougie disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,607,626, issued on Aug. 26, 1986.
The present invention relates to medical instruments, particularly to a vibratory method and device for treating female voiding dysfunctions associated with functional and organic changes in the urethra and bladder neck.
According to data from the September 1987 issue of the Journal of Urology, 20 million Americans alone suffer from some form of urinary incontinence. The economic impact of urinary incontinence is enormous and is likely to rise as the number of elderly in the population increases. In accordance with data from the Journal of Urology, April 1988, urinary incontinence in the elderly is a major social problem resulting in an annual cost of approximately $8 billion and accounts for between $0.5 to $1.5 billion in costs of nursing home care per year.
Urinary incontinence is difficult to treat. One of the most frequent types of urinary incontinence is the so-called stress urinary incontinence, which is defined as the involuntary loss of urine through the intact urethra as the result of a sudden increase in intra-abdominal pressure in the absence of bladder activity. Stress urinary incontinence accounts for roughly 75% of all female urinary incontinence. The most common cause of stress urinary incontinence in females is malfunction of the sphincteric mechanism of the urethra and an inadequate pelvic floor function.
Treatment of urinary incontinence falls into three main categories: (1) surgery; (2) drug therapy; and (3) re-education, including bladder retraining programs and re-education of the pelvic floor muscles. The existing urinary incontinence treatment methods, however, are far from being completely successful, and despite long-term and repeated courses of treatment, recurrences are not uncommon.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a simple, reliable and efficient vibratory method for treating female voiding dysfunctions. Another object is to provide a vibratory device for treating female voiding dysfunctions. A further object is to provide a vibratory device which exerts a combined axial and radial action onto the walls of the urethra and sphincteric muscles. Still another object is to provide a vibratory device which is simple in construction, easy to manufacture, and suitable for training the sphincteric mechanism. Other advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the drawings.